China Life Insurance, PetroChina and Sinopec to delist from NYSE amid audit dispute
- It is normal for companies to list or delist from any market, CSRC spokesman says
- The companies cited low trading volumes, high costs and regulatory issues for their decision to voluntarily delist from the New York Stock Exchange
Five Chinese state-owned companies are seeking to delist from the US amid an unresolved auditing dispute that could see dozens of mainland Chinese firms ejected from American exchanges, as ties between the two nations continue to worsen.
The smaller Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co also said they would apply to delist their ADS this month.
A spokesman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the market watchdog, said that “it was normal for companies to list or delist from any market”.
“These companies have fully complied with the US regulation. However, their delistings are related to the low turnover in the US. And since they are listed in other markets, the delisting will not affect their fundraising ability in other offshore markets,” the CSRC spokesman said.
The CSRC respects the decision of individual companies to list overseas and will continue to work with overseas regulators to safeguard the interests of the shareholders, he added.
